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Gun purchase glitch raises questions

Delaware State Police stopped Alvina Vansickle from purchasing a .22-caliber pistol for self-defense because she was too old and a woman, said Superintendent Col. Thomas MacLeish.

The outrage that followed led to the revelation that Delaware State Police had been keeping lists of gun buyers for years; state law requires them to destroy these records after 60 days.

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Without so much as a traffic ticket, the 81-year-old Lewes
resident should have sailed through the mandatory state police
background check when she tried to buy a Taurus revolver from Charlie
Steele’s Lewes gun shop last August.

Problems started after Steele made the required phone call to state police for approval of the firearms transaction.

An
employee in the state police Firearms Transaction Approval Program
noticed Vansickle’s age and gender, and brought the sale to an
immediate halt.

Vansickle’s application was then routed to Sgt. Benjamin Nefosky, who heads the firearms approval unit.

According to MacLeish, the transaction was halted over concerns "based upon age and gender."

"To
be very honest with you, we have a legal obligation under the law to do
approvals," MacLeish said. "We also have an obligation to make sure
we’re safe, and paying due diligence." – [source]